Water Quality Management Planning in New Jersey - Plan Smart
Transcript of Water Quality Management Planning in New Jersey - Plan Smart
Water Quality Management Planning in New Jersey
presented by Raymond A. Ferrara, Ph.D. Omni Environmental LLC
June 8, 2012
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Enabling Legislation ! 1977 Federal Clean Water Act (a.k.a. FWPCA)
! Section 208 Areawide Waste Treatment Management Plans (come to be known as WQMPs)
! Section 303d Water Quality Limited Waterbodies ! Section 303e Continuing Planning Process
! 1977 NJ Water Quality Planning Act ! N.J.S.A. 58:11A ! Statewide Water Quality Management Plan
including Continuing Planning Process ! Water Quality Management Planning Rules
! N.J.A.C. 7:15
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Objectives ! Water resources planning based on Areawide
Plans (i.e., 208 Plans in Federal CWA) ! Identify wastewater management needs for 20
year planning period ! Wastewater management plans (WMPs) are
part of areawide WQMPs ! Provide for existing and future development in
consideration of land use, zoning, environmental constraints, etc.
! Consider point and nonpoint pollution ! TMDLs
! 12 Planning Areas created
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208 Planning Areas in NJ
! Upper and Lower Delaware ! Upper & Lower Raritan ! Northeast ! TriCounty ! Cape May ! Atlantic ! Ocean ! Monmouth ! Mercer ! Sussex
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Some Events - 2000 to 2007
! Executive Order 109 ! Signed by Governor Whitman
! January 11, 2000 ! Calls for evaluation of secondary and
cumulative impacts ! Antidegradation ! Stormwater and riparian zones ! Water supply ! Threatened and endangered species
habitat
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Some Events - 2000 to 2007 ! N.J.A.C. 7:15
! July 3, 2000 new rule proposal ! Water Quality and Watershed Management ! January 30, 2001 new rule is adopted ! N.J.A.C. 7:15-8 withdraws designation of
! DGW < 20,000 gpd and ! DGW < 2,000 gpd ! Designates all as DGW < 2,000 gpd
! Developments with greater than 5 DUs on septic are inconsistent with WQMP
! Challenged and invalidated March 18, 2002
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Some Events - 2000 to 2007
! WMPs are to be updated, at a minimum, every 6 years ! 161 WMP agencies ! Many WMPs out of date
! October 17, 2005 NJDEP proposes withdrawing SSAs where WMPs are out of date ! March 6, 2006 DEP withdraws proposal
Current Rule WQMP N.J.A.C. 7:15
! May 21, 2007 Proposal ! NJDEP proposes significant revisions to
N.J.A.C. 7:15 ! Water Quality Management Planning
! Numerous changes but carries forward many of the themes that were developing from EO 109 and the earlier proposals
! July 7, 2008 Adoption ! This is the current rule in place although there
were subsequent orders and legislation effectively amending certain terms of the rule
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Water Quality Managemnt Planning Rul Current Rule WQMP N.J.A.C. 7:15
! Subchapters 1, 2, 3, 4 – general framework; CPP; consistency determinations; amendment and revision procedures; appeals
! Subchapter 5 – Wastewater Management Planning Requirements
! Subchapters 6 & 7 – TMDLs, WQ Limited water bodies
! Subchapter 8 – Withdrawal of SSAs ! Subchapter 9 - Grants
Subchapter 5 - N.J.A.C. 7:15-5
! 5.1 – no amendments or revisions to outdated plans
! 5.2 – updated WMPs must be submitted by April 7, 2009 or wastewater service areas are withdrawn ! DGW < 20,000 gpd defunct
! 5.4 & 5.13 – County Boards of Chosen Freeholders are wastewater management planning agencies unless they don’t want it, then municipality can do it & get extension to July 7, 2009 to submit WMP
! 5.23 also has schedule as above 10
Subchapter 5 - N.J.A.C. 7:15-5 ! 5.6 & 5.8 – Sewerage Authorities and Municipalities to
provide voluminous info to Counties ! 5.16 & 5.17 – Voluminous items to be included in
WMPs ! Treatment works, permits, flows, wetlands, flood
areas, open space, recreation, parks, steep slopes, zoning, tax maps, surface water classifications, T&E habitat, etc. – Do we need any other rules???
! 5.18 – Future wastewater management needs ! 20 year planning for urbanized municipalities ! Full build-out for all others ! Pump stations, sewers, treatment works ! Basis for wastewater flows 11
Subchapter 5 - N.J.A.C. 7:15-5 ! 5.20 – Specifications for Text and Graphics!!!! ! 5.23 – Schedule
! Updates every 6 years ! WMPs by April 7 or July 7, 2009 or wastewater
service areas withdrawn ! 5.25 – evaluation criteria
! Build-out analysis ! Antidegradation ! Nitrate dilution and 2 mg/l on HUC 11 basis
! 4 - > 10 acre lots = sprawl??? ! Water supply analysis ! NPS assessment 12
Subchapter 5 - N.J.A.C. 7:15-5 ! 5.24 – Delineation of SSAs
! No environmentally sensitive areas ! T&E Rank 3, 4, or 5 in Landscape Project ! Natural Heritage Priority Sites ! SWRPA / Category 1 ! Wetlands
! Some coastal planning areas excluded ! No SSAs in special restricted areas, e.g., dunes
! 5.26 – Habitat Suitability Determination ! To rebut presumption of Landscape Project
Rank 3, 4, or 5 13
Administrative Order 2010-03
! March 24, 2010 - NJDEP Commissioner Martin ! Recognized that
! Deadlines have been missed; more time needed due to complexity of analyses necessary
! Withdrawal of wastewater service areas causes concern
! Deadline submission extended to April 7, 2011 ! No withdrawal of wastewater service areas prior to
April 7, 2011
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P.L. 2011, Chapter 203 ! Approved January 17, 2012 ! Continued concern about withdrawal of wastewater
service areas ! Wastewater service areas stay in effect at least until
July 15, 2012 ! Counties to submit SSA maps by July 15, 2012
! Preexisting SSAs stay in effect until adoption ! Capacity at WWTP not necessary ! Amendment or revision applications can be
submitted ! Timeline for DEP action, e.g.,60 day completeness
review & 180 day compliance review 15
Some Thoughts
! Antidegradation ! This is not the place for it ! Requires detailed water quality analyses that should
be performed at permitting stage and can not be determined without site specific data and detailed information about individual treatment works
! Landscape Project ! Presumed correct; known to be incorrect ! Questionable methods for such a detailed
application; useful as guide/advice ! Not up to date with wetlands LOIs and HSDs ! Detailed application is waste of time and resources
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Some Thoughts ! WQMPs and WMPs require regional planning based
on water resource boundaries ! Counties are political boundaries ! Watershed basis is best
! Good for water supply, wastewater disposal, stormwater management and other NPS, etc.
! Over-reaching ! Tried to anticipate all situations - impossible ! Use the Ferrara 90/10 rule
! Simplify ! Cover 90% ! Include flexibility to deal with the other 10% 17